


Thunderstorm

by Eggling



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: M/M, Season 6B
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 06:31:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13735134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggling/pseuds/Eggling
Summary: The Doctor and Jamie sometimes struggle with how much things have changed.





	Thunderstorm

“Oh, dear.” The Doctor tucked his books further into his pocket. It would not do for them to get wet when they were still brand new. “Oh dear, oh dear.” After a moment’s fumbling, he managed to put up his umbrella, smiling apologetically at a young lady he almost knocked over.

If only Jamie hadn’t wandered off, he thought. He had hoped that his detour into the bookshop would not take very long. They might even have had some sightseeing time before the Time Lords called them back for another mission, but Jamie had insisted on stepping outside. It was raining, now, anyway, he thought gloomily. Hardly the best conditions for exploring the city. Thick clouds were gathering at the top of the habitation dome, and water was pouring from the plants that scaled the buildings, pooling in the shining white curves of the few exposed support structures. Even the hovering farm-pods were weighed down, their chain tethers dragging along the ground as they bobbed in place. The rain had driven most people inside, but he suspected Jamie would still be wandering the streets. Pausing, he stared up at a street sign, wondering which path Jamie would have taken. _Grant Road, Calum Street - McIntyre Park_. The name and the promise of greenery leapt out at him, and he hurried off towards the park.

He found the park almost entirely deserted, save for a few determined joggers and dog walkers. There was no sign of Jamie. Perhaps he had headed in the opposite direction, or ignored the street sign. Perhaps he had even made his way back to the TARDIS. It was times like this when he missed the faint buzz of Jamie’s mind, he thought, feeling rather harried. He might only be a touch telepath, but familiarity bred ease, and once he had been accustomed to knowing how far away Jamie was. Sometimes he still expected to have that sense of Jamie’s presence. Of course, that had been a long time ago – he had not felt it in many years, not since before…

He sat down on a bench heavily, ignoring its coating of raindrops. “Jamie was here,” he murmured to himself. “We left the TARDIS together, he kissed me goodbye when he left the bookshop.” His mind was full of whispering, panicky doubts. _Jamie was never here. You imagined him. You never got him back_. “Didn’t he?” 

“You alright, mate?”

The voice was so startlingly similar to Ben’s that the Doctor nearly choked out his name. “Ah – yes, I’m alright,” he said, raising his head. An older man with greying red hair was staring down at him, ad he could not help but feel a pang. Just for a moment, he had believed it really was Ben. “You haven’t seen someone in a kilt near here, have you?”

“A kilt?” The man frowned, then nodded, pointing towards a steep, narrow path, half concealed by bushes. “Yeah, heading up there, about half an hour ago. He didn’t look happy. You a friend of his?”

“Ah – yes.” The Doctor clasped his hand in thanks and headed towards the path. It was poorly kept compared to the rest of the park, uneven and strewn with leaves. One last vestige of wildness in an otherwise completely artificial world. Well, nature did tend to find a way, he thought. Even if it was in a habitation dome on a barren planet.

He emerged into a small clearing on the crest of the hill to find Jamie sitting with his legs hanging over the edge of a cliff. He cradled a paper cup in one hand, staring blankly out at the horizon. The Doctor approached him as quietly as he could, trying not to jolt him out of whatever thoughtfulness he had fallen into while still covering him with the umbrella.

“Hello, Doctor,” he said, not looking away from the horizon. The Doctor jumped. He had not realised Jamie had registered his presence.

“Ah – hello, Jamie,” he said. “Are you alright?”

“Aye, I’m alright.” Jamie looked down at himself, then up at the Doctor, grinning. That was a good sign, the Doctor thought. “Wet.”

“Yes, I noticed.” The Doctor sat down beside him, holding the umbrella over them. Jamie shuffled over to lean into his side. “Keeping warm?”

“Warm enough.” Jamie handed his cup over to the Doctor, who took an experimental sip. “It only cost one of those funny wee coins ye gave me, I figured that was cheap enough. Did ye get your books?”

“Mm, a few. I’m sorry if listening to me waffle on about bioelectronics wasn’t interesting enough for you.”

“It wasn’t that. I’d listen to ye waffle on about bio-thingys for days, ye know I would. I just needed tae be on my own for a wee while.” Jamie’s attention was drawn away from the Doctor again, and he stared out across the park again. “Here feels a bit like home. But it’s so different, too, I – I dinnae know what to make of it.”

“The street signs ought to tell you where many of the founders of this colony were from – and what they based their environment on.”

Jamie smiled. “Aye, I guessed. It’s nice. Most places we visit don’t have this much green.”

“No, the colonists of this century were very keen on sustainability. Having plants cover the buildings, making space for parks, growing their own food, that sort of thing. In a few decades, several of the settlements from this batch will be abandoned, but the domes live on. Growing, just as if they were back on Earth.” He paused, considering the melancholy written on Jamie’s face. “Are you regretting rejoining me, Jamie?”

“No!” The hurt in Jamie’s voice told him that it was the truth. “No, never that. It’d be nice tae visit home sometimes, I suppose. But I don’t want tae go back to all that. I couldn’t lose ye again, not when I’ve only just remembered everything.”

“Mm. You know that, ah – if that ever changes, you can always ask.”

“It won’t.” Jamie leant over to kiss his cheek. “Never.” The Doctor touched the spot tentatively, a smile spreading across his face. “Ye know I dinnae want to stay anywhere if you’re not there.”

“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but you _have_ seemed rather homesick lately.”

“No’ homesick, exactly.” The rain was easing up now. Jamie flopped backwards onto the grass, relinquishing the protection of the umbrella. “ _Mm_. I miss the smell of rain. I miss something, but I dinnae know what it is.” He looked up at the Doctor, suddenly anxious. “I have remembered everything, haven’t I? You’re not just telling me I have, and I'm missing something I can't remember?”

“As far as I know, you remember everything. The whole process went remarkably smoothly.” The Doctor lay down beside Jamie, reaching blindly for his hand. “Perhaps it’s the freedom we had before. I miss that.”

“Don’t think so. I miss just sitting and talking with ye like this, but I dinnae think it’s that either.” Jamie scrunched his face up in concentration. “I think it’s our friends.” He laughed. “No’ that I mind having ye all to myself. It’s just a wee bit odd, having the TARDIS so empty.”

“Yes, I know. I miss them too.” The Doctor squeezed his hand. “Perhaps after this next mission we’ll have some time off, hm? And now I have the missing parts necessary to steer the TARDIS, we can go and visit them.”

“Aye, I’d like that.”

“Things aren’t the same as they were before, Jamie. You might grow tired of it, sooner or later.” He paused, hesitating. “Tired of me.” Jamie opened his mouth to protest. “If you did want to leave, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”

“No, I -”

“Promise me, Jamie. Promise you’ll be honest with me.”

Jamie stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “Aye, I promise. But it won’t come to that.”

The Doctor relaxed, reassured. “Yes, I know. But sometimes I need to be sure.” He stretched. “So comes sunshine after rain, I suppose. Things change.”

A deep rumble of thunder split the artificial sky, and Jamie laughed as the rain poured down over them again. “No’ as much as you’d think.”


End file.
